Win
One pool, one winner. The dividend is the pool after deductions divided by the stakes on the winning horse.
Pool Betting
The Tote, explained
One of the ways the Tote differs from traditional bookmakers is how your winnings are worked out. Every stake goes into one pool, and the winners share what is left.
How winnings are calculated
Three things set your dividend.
- 1How much money there is in the pool
- 2How popular the winning selection is
- 3Tote's cut for operating the pool
The final dividend is rounded down to the nearest 10p, and is always declared to a £1 stake.
Worked example · Win pool
£10,000 staked in the pool
Horse 1£5,000
Horse 2£3,000
Horse 3Winner£2,000
After Tote's cut£8,075
Stakes on Horse 3£2,000
£8,075 ÷ £2,000 =
£4.00
dividend to a £1 stake
Tote Guarantee
You will never be paid less than SP. If the dividend pays less, it is bumped up to match the price of the horse at the off. And if the dividend beats SP, you are paid the bigger price.
Sign up offer
Bet £10, get £20 in free bets with Tote
Join the Tote, stake £10 on any pool or fixed-odds bet, and receive £20 in free bets to use across racing and more.
- Tote Guarantee on every qualifying race
- Best Odds Guaranteed on UK & Irish racing
- Exclusive Placepot and Scoop6 pools
£20
in free bets
New customers only. Min deposit £10. Min qualifying stake £10. 18+. T&Cs apply.
Claim Tote offerTote pools you can play
Place
Back a horse to finish in the places. How many places pay depends on the size of the field.
Exacta
Pick the first two horses home in the correct finishing order.
Trifecta
Call the first three home in the right order for a much bigger dividend.
Placepot
Pick a placed horse in the first six races at a meeting. Average £442.90 to a £1 stake over five years.
Quadpot
Legs 3, 4, 5 and 6 only. A cheaper safety net if your Placepot goes out early.
Watch the action
Live Streaming
Watch all races live on Tote.co.uk without placing a bet. Log in to your account now to start watching live racing.
Stream all available racing without placing a bet.
To qualify, you simply need to have deposited to your account once.
Available on Tote.co.uk/Tote.ie every day.
Placepot guide
The first bet of the day.
The Tote Placepot is a raceday ritual and the most popular pool bet. Pick a horse to place in the first six races at any UK, Irish or selected international meeting. Pools open from 4pm the day before all UK and Irish meetings.
If you go out in the first two legs you can always buy back into the Quadpot. That covers four races instead of six, so the interest lasts all afternoon.
£442.90
Average £1 payout, last five years
£2,931
Average £1 payout at the last Cheltenham Festival
£100k+
Guaranteed Placepot pools every Saturday
Minimum guaranteed £50k Placepot pools run at selected meetings every day of the week.
Has my horse been placed?
Places depend on the size of the field. The same terms apply to the Tote Place pool.
2 to 4 runners1st
5 to 7 runners1st & 2nd
8 to 15 runners1st, 2nd & 3rd
Non-handicap, 16+ runners1st, 2nd & 3rd
Handicap, 16+ runners1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th
Take on the favourites
The biggest dividends land when popular horses miss the places. If a fancied runner has a chink in its armour, find something less popular to oppose it with.
Bankers and cover
Keep a couple of solid favourites as single-line bankers, and add extra selections in big fields or hard-to-judge races.
Unnamed favourite
You can pick the unnamed favourite in any leg and get the SP favourite at the off. Useful when the market is volatile. Joint favourites default to the lowest racecard number.
Pennies are allowed
Minimum stakes are now 1p per line and 50p overall online and in the Tote app, so bigger permutations are far more affordable.
Placepot lines calculator
Multiply your selections in each leg to get your total lines. Minimum stake is 1p per line.
Lines
36
Total stake
£3.60
3 × 2 × 1 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 36 lines
Tote questions, answered
How are winnings calculated with a bookmaker?+
You either take the price at the time you strike the bet and get paid at those odds, or you bet at SP and get paid at the starting price.
What is SP?+
SP, or starting price, is the price of the horse at the moment the race goes off.
What is the Tote Guarantee?+
With Tote Guarantee you are never paid less than SP. If the dividend comes up short it is bumped to match the price at the off, and if the dividend beats SP you are paid the bigger price.
When can I play the Placepot?+
Placepot pools open from 4pm the day before all UK and Irish meetings, online and in the Tote app.
How do I place a Placepot on-course?+
Grab a Placepot bet slip and a racecard, then write the number of each horse you want in the box for that leg. Extra selections go in the next box along. You can also read your numbers out to the cashier.
Free bet friendly
Tote stakes often count toward weekly free bet clubs.